Xponent

About Xponent

Xponent Photonics, founded in 2000 and formerly known as cQuint communications, operated in the telecommunications service providers and semiconductor sector. The company focused on manufacturing surface-mount photonic components, leveraging a fabless business model to reduce capital expenditure by outsourcing the chip manufacturing process to specialized foundries. This strategy allowed Xponent to utilize the assets and expertise of established merchant wafer foundries and conventional IC packaging operations to enhance performance and lower the costs of optical components.

The company's core technology was its Surface Mount Photonics (SMP) platform, which was considered a significant step in producing optical components similarly to semiconductors. This platform enabled the production of active devices based on silicon in volume. Xponent's product line included a range of triplexers and diplexers designed for single-fiber applications, such as point-to-point and bidirectional RF systems. The company was shipping production volumes of Fiber-to-the-X (FTTX) components and was expanding its offerings to the datacom, CATV, and consumer markets. By early 2007, Xponent had also introduced a 10-Gbit MSA receiver for short- and medium-range applications.

Throughout its operation, Xponent Photonics secured significant venture capital funding. An early Series C round in October 2003 raised $18 million. The company's most substantial funding round was in March 2007, when it secured $23 million in a Series 3 (or Series D) financing led by new investor American River Ventures. This brought the total funds raised to at least $41 million according to one source, while another suggests a total of $90 million over four rounds. Key investors included American River Ventures, Arcturus Capital, Eastward Capital Partners, El Dorado Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures, HOYA Holdings, Samsung, US Venture Partners, and Walden International. On November 14, 2007, Xponent Photonics was acquired by the Japan-based optical products manufacturer, HOYA Corporation.